Projective mapping based on choice or preference: An affective approach to projective mapping

•This work explored a new affective approach to projective mapping (PM).•Three PM tests were performed in blind, informed & affective scenarios.•In the affective PM, consumers focused less on the sensory and more on the usage & attitudes.•The affective PM provided an enhanced understanding of the drivers of liking & disliking.

This work explores a new affective approach to projective mapping, based on consumers' choices or preferences. Two sessions, one week apart, were performed with the same consumers, using whole bread as a case study. Overall liking ratings (OL) were gathered in blind conditions and samples were also profiled by a trained panel using generic descriptive analysis. Three projective mapping tests were performed in different scenarios. Consumers' categorization and product descriptions were explored when consumers based their positioning on the products' similarities and differences (analytical approach, “classic napping”) both in blind and informed conditions, and when consumers were focusing on their preference or choice (affective approach). The affective approach to projective mapping successfully revealed consumers' drivers of liking and choice from a holistic perspective, where consumers summarized their main drivers for categorizing products as they would do when choosing in real life situations, based on their preferences.

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